Pace car driver Brett Bodine, a former NASCAR Cup driver, was leading the field under caution on Lap 55 when he suddenly veered off the track with the car smoking. The rear of the Chevrolet SS pace car then caught on fire, forcing Bodine and another NASCAR official to bail out.

Chevrolet issued a statement Sunday morning on the embarrassing incident:

“The pace car experienced a fire in the trunk area, which contains a purpose-built auxiliary electrical kit to operate the numerous caution lights during the race,” Chevrolet said in a statement. “The pace car driver and passenger safely exited the vehicle. An assessment is underway.”

It was just two years ago that NASCAR made national headlines when driver Juan Pablo Montoya slammed into a jet dryer during the Daytona 500, igniting a huge explosion and fireball.

The drivers couldn't believe what they were seeing as the circled the track under caution.

"I thought it was a racecar," said Brad Keselowski, who famously tweeted photos of the jet dryer fire two years ago. "Somebody told me it was the pace car and I just started laughing."

The incident continued a series of bizarre incidents in NASCAR races. A TV cable broke during last year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, damaging several cars and injuring fans.

"When you think you've seen it all," Keselowski quipped. "It's never ending. I don't know what to expect in the Daytona 500."

He should have driving a Camry," Toyota driver Denny Hamlin quipped.

Hamlin, who won the race, said he saw the car catch on fire.

"I saw smoke and I thought he had a right rear going down, honestly," Hamlin said. "I thought it was tire smoke until I saw flames. Brett was then on a mission to find the emergency vehicle."

The pace car fire during Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited came just 20 laps after a huge crash that wiped out seven cars and top drivers Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and others.